The 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th

Have you seen the photos of the “2001 September 11th attacks” on the World Trade Center towers in New York City that were recently made public?

These photos were taken by New York Police Officers who were on the scene in a police helicopter.

Here are some of the photos they took:

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The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver, Canada.
The opening ceremony is scheduled to begin on Friday, 2010 February 12th in the evening…Canada time. So, it’ll be Saturday, 2010 February 13th here in Japan when the ceremony begins.

The official 2010 Olympics logo.

The games will go from 2010 February 12-28 (Canada time).
Do you watch the Olympics?
I watch them…but the games go for over two weeks—I don’t watch everyday of the games. I like to watch some of the opening ceremony and some of the closing ceremony and a few games in between.

This year, Japan is sending 95 athletes to compete in the Olympics, America is sending 216, and Canada (the host country) will have 206 athletes play.
How many athletes from your country will be at the 2010 Olympics?

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Sunday, February 14th will be Valentine’s Day.
How is Valentine’s Day celebrated in your country?

In Japan, it’s done the opposite of how America celebrates it. And Japan has another holiday (called “White Day“) in March that is more similar to Western-style Valentine’s.

Click here to read my FAQ about Valentine’s Day in Japan…
and click here to read my post that explains Japanese Valentine’s (and other holidays in February) in more detail.

Also, this year on February 14 will be the Chinese New Years.
I mentioned it on my site’s “Festivals In Tokyo” page….click here to read it.

Have you ever experienced a Chinese New Years ceremony?
If you’re in the Tokyo area this weekend, you can go to 「横浜中華街」 (“Yokohama China Town“) and see a Chinese New Years ceremony.

Chinese New Year

Today is New Years Eve in China. The last day of the 子年 (“Year Of The Mouse”).

If you’re in the area, and you have a chance, I recommend going to 横浜中華街 (Yokohama Chinatown) in 横浜 (Yokohama, Japan) tomorrow.

If you went there tonight, they are having New Years Eve celebrations as I write this.
But if you can go there tomorrow (Monday, January 26, 2009), that’s when the bigger celebrations will happen.

The most famous is the parade with the Chinese dragon dance.

(The Japanese version of this is the 金竜の舞い (“Golden Dragon Festival”) in Tokyo every March (Click here to read a bit about this festival on my “Festivals In Tokyo” page)):

As in Japan, New Years is China’s biggest holiday.
Actually there are a number of similarities between Chinese and Japanese New Years…although in Japan, the details are Japanese style and in China, they’re uniquely Chinese, of course.
For example, just like New Years in Japan, in China New Years is a time for getting together with family for a big traditional dinner and first visit of the year to a temple and family grave.
Also, in both countries, children receive お年玉 (gift money) in a special envelope. In Japan, the envelope is usually white with cartoon characters on it…in China, it’s almost always red (red is a lucky color in China).

Japan uses the Chinese horoscope with twelve creatures. So, January 1, 2009 began the 丑年 (“Year Of The Cow”) in Japan…and in China, the “Year Of The Cow” begins tomorrow.

Also, both countries have their own unique calendar. So, the official year in Japan is currently 平成二十一年 (Heisei 21). In China, tomorrow will begin the year 4706!

Click here to read the short bit I wrote about Chinese New Year in Yokohama Chinatown on my “Festivals In Tokyo” page.

Also, I’ve been living in Japan since 1990, so I know about Japan’s culture, holidays, etc…but I don’t know much about China. So, the parts I wrote in this post regarding China are based on what I’ve read and heard over the years.

(I also wrote about Japanese New Years, of course. Click here and here to read about it.)

Miscellaneous…

WordPress has added a new function to the blog comments. It’s an E-mail notification.
If you check the box titled: “Notify me of followup comments via email.” below the Submit Comment button when you write a comment on my blog, then whenever I or anyone else responds to your comment you’ll get an email notifying you.

(Click the box like this one to receive email notifications.)

Also, if you see pop-up windows when you hover your mouse over an image on this blog, you can turn that irritating function off (Click here to read my post about how to do that.)

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Last Thursday, a TV show that I enjoy alot was on. It only airs twice a year. I try to watch it every time.
It’s called 「欽ちゃん＆香取慎吾の全日本仮装大賞」 (Kinchan & Shingo Katori’s All-Japan Costume Talent Contest).

Do you live in Japan? Have you ever watched this show? Did you watch it last Thursday?
It’s a great show. People make their own costumes and props and put on a short show and a panel of five judges can award between 0 – 4 points each. If the contestant gets at least twelve points, then they move forward and stand a chance to win one of the cash prizes.

Click here to see the official 「欽ちゃん＆香取慎吾の全日本仮装大賞」 (Kinchan & Shingo Katori’s All-Japan Costume Talent Contest) website.

Here are a couple of the contestants from past shows on YouTube:

This one’s was one the show last Thursday. It’s called 「ミイラの新体操」 (The Mummy’s Rhythmic Gymnastics):

I enjoyed this one alot.

This one’s called 「ピンポン」 (Ping-Pong). I saw it when it aired on the show a couple years ago:

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Tomorrow is my second daughter’s fourteenth birthday.

(“S”, お誕生日おめでとう！ (Happy birthday!) Don’t be in such a hurry to grow-up. You and your sisters are still my babies! ♥)

She’s getting an I-pod® and some clothes for her birthday present.

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Also, tomorrow is 鏡開き (Kagami-biraki).

At お正月 (New Years), one of the many Japanese decorations is 鏡餅 (Kagami-mochi), which is two mochi (pulverized rice) stacked with a みかん (tangerine) on top.

On January 11, the 鏡餅 (Kagami-mochi), which is brittle by now, is broken and prepared in a hot soup with An beans as a traditional Japanese dish called 「汁粉」 (Shiruko)

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Monday, January 12, is a 祝日 (legal holiday) in Japan.

It’s called 「成人の日 (Adults Day).

Click here to read my short FAQ about this holiday. And click here to read about it on my “Festivals In Tokyo” page.

If you’re in Japan on the second Monday in January, you’ll see many twenty-year-old Japanese people in suits or 着物 (Japanese kimono).

(In just five years, my oldest daughter will being doing the 成人式 (Adults Day ceremony). 😦
Time flies!

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Also if you’re in the area on January 25 and 26, you might want to go to 横浜中華街 (Yokohama Chinatown) for the 中国新年 (Chinese New Year) celebrations.

It’s not on a convenient date if you have to work, like I do…because Chinese New Years Eve is on Sunday, January 25 in the evening…and the real event (including the famous Chinese lion parade) is on Monday, January 26.